Youths given the 7 steps to wise choices

A number of young adults here should now be better able to make wise choices in life, following a one and a half hour presentation by US based Consultant and Author, Karen Hinds.{{more}}

Hinds, Vincentian by birth, on Tuesday evening, shared her wealth of knowledge and experience with a fairly large gathering of young adults and older persons, at the Methodist Church Hall.

Speaking on the topic “Making Wise Choices”, Hinds in her interactive presentation outlined the seven steps which should be taken in order to make wise choices.

While outlining the steps, she also shared her own experience as a teenager, her migration from St. Vincent to the United States and a few other decisions she had to make as a young adult, before she became the successful individual she is today.

Hinds’ visit down memory lane resulted in laughter and sounds of amazement from the receptive audience.

Her tales included how her parents never bought brand name clothing for her as a teenager, having to wear a jeri curl hairstyle, being laughed at during her first day at High School in the US and not being allowed to date boys during her High School years.

Despite the embarrassments and not having some of the opportunities as did other young adults in her time, Hinds said she endured and prevailed because of the decisions she made.

According to the consultant, the seven steps are: know who you are and believe in yourself; seek out wise people who have made similar decisions successfully; list your options; each decision has a consequence, weigh it carefully; choose; give your decision 110 per cent effort and evaluate the success and lessons of your decisions.

She explained to the audience that her reasons for pursuing her career of lending assistance to young people, were based on her own experiences as a young adult.

“When I was in your shoes, your age group, there were a lot of things I didn’t know. And when I thought about coming back to St. Vincent in the last few months, I had to figure out, how do I get to help young who are here.

“And there are a few things that I recognise that in order for you to be successful is that you have to start making wise choices now. It doesn’t start when you twenty-one or you graduate college, it actually starts right now,” Hinds told the audience.

As she made her presentation, Hinds called on members of the audience to share their experiences as well as their opinions on certain issues.

One of the main highlight’s of Tuesday’s session was Hinds parents’ advice to her that she then passed on to those gathered.

“Education comes first!”

Hinds advice generated a number of “Uhh huh”, “Yep” and “That’s true” responses.

The students, mostly females, from the Girls’ High school, Thomas Saunders Secondary, Emmanuel High School Mesopotamia, and St. Joseph Convent Kingstown were also told “Education before boys.”

This brought about loud chuckles.

However, some of the students who spoke with SEARCHLIGHT following the presentation said they were in full agreement with the advice passed on.

An exhilarated Hinds told SEARCHLIGHT after, that she was pleased with the turnout and the reception from those who attended.

“It shows me that SVG is ready for a change and the young people are about to lead that way.

“We’re about to build a phenomenal country, an exceptional place where young people can see their dreams come through.

“It’s not just me, there are a lot of people that are already doing great work in SVG and we’re just building on that,” she added.

It was also revealed that plans are in place to host four similar workshops in 2013, geared towards educating and informing young people.

The seminars, dubbed, “Man Rising”, “Phenomenal Woman” and “Teen Success Institute” will be held on separate dates during next year.

The fourth seminar will be a business forum for young entrepreneurs.

Hinds however explained that she is still in the planning process, but the dates for seminars will be revealed upon completion of planning.

From St. Vincent, Hinds heads to Barbados next week where she will conduct a session of the same nature. She will also be doing a book signing for her newly published book, “A Young Adult’s Guide to the Global Workplace”.

Hinds is the Founder and CEO of Workplace Success Group LLC, which based in the United States. Her company works with individuals and companies to position emerging leaders to discover, master and operate in their own distinctive power to stand out and move up personally and professionally.